Based on attendees` reactions to last year`s program, bicsi (Tampa, FL) is anticipating another successful Cabling Workshop this fall. Held in conjunction with Cabling Installation & Maintenance`s Cabling Expo, Cabling Workshop will take place October 13 to 15 at the Charlotte, NC, Convention Center.
"The feedback we got from last year`s show was that the attendees felt the program was excellent," says Jay Warmke, bicsi`s executive director. "There was a high degree of quality-coordinated education that we will continue this year." One of the significant differences between Cabling Workshop and the programs offered at many other conferences is that the workshop`s programs are designed internally rather than solicited. bicsi`s master instructors write and present all sessions, avoiding redundancy in the presentations.
Some changes have been made to the program, however. Warmke says that the workshop will include more hours of study than it did last year. Also, attendance at the workshop will count toward renewal of the registered communications distribution designer (rcdd) designation.
Continuing a successful formula
"By and large, the format and the process were very successful last year," says Warmke. "So we`re going to keep that pretty much the same. Like last year, we have a good opening speaker and a good closing speaker."
The workshop kicks off Monday afternoon, October 13, with welcoming remarks, followed by the keynote address by Barbara Samson, co-founder and senior vice president of Intermedia Communications. The closing speaker will be Larry Csonka, a former All-Pro running back for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League.
Between these two dynamic events will be two full days of courses on topics including standards, testing, customer service, fiber optics, residential design, firestopping, record-keeping, and grounding and bonding.
Several of these topics will be covered in multiple sessions. For example, on Tuesday, October 14, "Fiber Optics, Part 1" will be held from 8:30 to 9:30 AM. Then "Fiber Optics, Part 2" will be held from 10 to 11 AM. Tuesday afternoon, "Advanced Fiber Optics, Part 1" will be held from 3 to 4 PM, followed by "Advanced Fiber Optics, Part 2" from 4:30 to 5 PM. Other topics to be covered in multiple presentations are testing, firestopping, commercial internal design, campus design, and job quotations.
Warmke says initial registration numbers are ahead of last year`s. "We hope to come close to doubling the number of attendees over last year. I believe that last year, many companies sent only one representative to check out the workshop to see if it was of value. Hopefully they`ve determined that it is worthwhile, and this year those companies will send more of their people. We`re optimistic for a good turnout."
Training and testing
bicsi training sessions, which are different from the workshop and require separate registration, are another integral part of the education-filled week.
bicsi will offer its two-and-a-half day course, "DD101: Telecommunications Distribution Systems Review" October 10 to 12. The course will review the contents of the bicsi Telecommunications Distribution Methods Manual, which serves as the basis for the rcdd exam. DD101 is the only bicsi-sanctioned rcdd review course. The exam will be given Monday, October 13.
Some of the topics covered in DD101 are entrance-point facilities; horizontal, backbone, and campus distribution systems; telecommunications closets; equipment rooms; firestopping; construction specifications and standards; infrastructure grounding; and optical-fiber technology.
bicsi says the course is for experienced telecommunications design engineers, consultants, contractors, and others who have at least two years of commercial, campus, and multifamily telecommunications cabling system experience.
Installer and technician exams
Separately from DD101, bicsi will offer a five-day lab/lecture program to prepare candidates for the installer and technician registration examinations, which will be held Saturday, October 18. The program will run from 8 AM to 5 PM Monday, October 13, to Friday, October 17.
Both the installer and technician levels integrate classroom instruction with a structured on-the-job training checklist, and a written and hands-on registration examination.
bicsi allows registered apprentices, or those with at least two years of installation experience, to attend the installer-level training program and take the installer-level examination. The training, registration exam, and on-the-job training are similar to the apprentice program (which will not be offered the week of October 13 to 17), but are at an advanced level.
Registered Installers, or those with at least five years of installation experience, may attend the technician-level training and take the technician examination. The technician program is similar to the other two programs, but its content is at an even higher level.
For more information, call bicsi at (800) 242-7405.
bicsi has summarized the requirements for each of the three levels of installer registration--apprentice, installer, and technician--in these charts appearing in the organization`s literature